Intellectual Property

This week is about intellectual property law. We will be learning about laws that protect the ownership of artistic creations, writings, inventions, photographs, computer programs, biologics, and even genes (if the code has been altered). Patents, copyright, trademarks, trade names, and service marks are ways the government ensures the owner exclusive control of the intellectual property for a period of time. When such protected property is used without the permission of the owner, it is called infringement. Damages for infringement tend to be related to the amount of profit earned by the infringer and are awarded by the court to the owner.

Please post something to the discussion board related to the content covered this week. Each post should be succinct and professional, using all elements of POETS (purpose, organization, evidence, tone, and sentence structure). 

Here are some ideas for your post to get you started:

• Discuss what cannot be patented. For example, can ideas or the laws of nature be patented? Why or why not? Does this make sense?
• U.S. patent law can only protect within U.S. jurisdiction. Stealing of U.S. intellectual property by foreign actors is a big problem for U.S. businesses. Discuss ways to protect other countries from stealing intellectual property.  
• Using Summon in the Capella University Library (or another database), locate an article about the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, passed by Congress in 2011. Debate whether this act, which changed the ability to patent an invention based on ©rst to file)nstead of ©rst to invent,(elps or hurts inventors.
• Briefly explain exempted property or exceptions to discharge under Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code and debate how these exemptions or exceptions to discharge protect consumers and/or the U.S. economy. Refer to page 330 of your textbook for information on the United States Bankruptcy Code.
• After completing the readings for this week, share which reading most interested you or which reading you felt was most immediately relevant to your own professional or academic career.